Tag: publishing.

pvoberstein:

(advice comes from a published Canadian author of novels and short stories, take it for what you will)

• Ignore anything that says NO MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS. Most publishers are resigned to the reality that if you’re submitting a piece to them, you’re shopping it around. There’s not much stigma to this anymore.
• If you do get accepted, immediately inform everything else you submitted the story to that it is no longer available. Also send them another story in the same message. If you were good enough for one editor to run with…
• Rejection is the norm. Do whatever you can to beat the odds. Have multiple stories queued up that can be fired off to different publishers with a little tweaking.
• When submitting, always list your word count, the name of the editor, and any recent publications you have
• Start trying to get published in a local publication, then work your way up. It’s important to establish credentials being published anywhere at first
• Self-publishing is probably the exception. Editors know which “magazines” are basically “pay to be printed”, and will review your submissions accordingly
• Things get easier. The more you get published, the easier the next sale will be.
• The turning point is usually around 5-6 published works. Then you’ve got real momentum
• Generally don’t bother following up for around six months.
• Enter into writing competitions! 
• Though always check to make sure it’s not a pay-to-play scam
• Paying to be judged, though, is not necessarily a bad thing. Gives you better odds of being published, and a publishing credit, and might be supporting a magazine
• Join local writers’ groups and organizations, such as the Writers’ Union of Canada, the League of Canadian Poets, and CANSCAIP
• Great freebies!
• Maybe meet Margaret Atwood!
• Attend literary festivals! These are all over the place, including at local libraries.
• They often give you a chance to hear authors read aloud, which is a great opportunity to hear how an author intended a book to be read, cadence-wise
• Chat up industry reps! They’re generally lonely, and you can follow up with them a day later with something like “hey, remember we were talking about my short story…”
• Getting paid anything is a great start
• Editors know how much different publications and contests pay, and if they see that you’ve won anything, they’ll look more favorably on your submissions
• If you get accepted, negotiate an escalator – an improved % of the revenue that you get in subsequent publications.
• Residuals should mostly go to you, not the publisher. 80-90% is the norm.

Resources (unverified by OP)

• The Writer’s Digest Guide to Manuscript Formats is probably you’re best one-stop for submission formatting questions
• placeforwriters.com – a website of Canadian calls for submissions, grants, funding, literary organizations
• pw.org – Poets and Writers Magazine, which is a great magazine for professional writers
• aerogrammestudios.com – The publication website for publishing in the UK
• duotrope.com – free trial, but then a paid subscription which gives access to a database of publisher contacts and news

thebibliosphere:

I have actually. And usually in the context of a scam. They’re a vanity publisher, as far as I’m aware. Granted a vanity publisher with standards for submissions, and an editing team to make things shiny, but the last I heard of them they still want the author to foot the bill of publishing their book to the tune of several thousand dollars. Which is something you only find out after you request the “free” author submission kit.

And I’m not saying self publishing with an aim towards success is free or cheap. I’ve sunk thousands into making Phangs into all I can make it possibly be, but that was a personal choice on my part and partly because of the massive (read: overwhelming) “what do you mean it’s healthy polyamory and queer, take my money!” response it got when I first started playing with the idea of making it into something more substantial than a tumblr post and realized it has the potential to actually be something really cool. I even flirted with one or two indie presses, even my old house, but ultimately decided I was better off retaining as much control over the book as possible. I made a choice which made it harder for initial production, but ultimately will pay off more in the long run for what I want to do with it.

But the thing is, that’s me footing the bill of a *massive* project that I want to retain the full rights to and also includes the cost of production. Any *publisher* asking me for that kind of money just to get my book through the door, has not got my best interests at heart. Especially when they don’t list those prices up front.

Basic thing to look for when attempting to find an agent or publisher is: if they want money from you up front, it’s a scam.

Publishers, even small indie press, take the cut of their fee from your Sales. Not “on top of the $2000+ you just spent on marketing” which btw, you can do for substantially less on your own, and also, even with traditional publishing, you still wind up doing a lot of the footwork on promotions yourself. Unless you’re a big fish in this vast sea, you always end up being your best promoter.

Also Writer Beware is an excellent resource for people wondering how to avoid getting scammed when they start out:

https://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/

They also offer resources on where to look and how to contact people, so it’s an infinitely useful page imo.

letswritesomenovels:

Back when I was doing my MA program, I typed up a guide to writing query letters. It’s the post from this blog that I’m most proud of: a thorough step-by-step guide that combines days and weeks of research, and dozens of sources, into a neatly packaged 1,800-word post.

And I have to admit, I didn’t write it for tumblr. I needed to write a query letter myself for a publishing class, and my post was little more than compiled homework notes, saved as a Tumblr post for posterity. 

I’ve actually had pieces of this in my drafts for years, but now I actually have to write a synopsis and I’m piling up the research, so I thought it was finally time for the sister to my query post to be published here.

But first…

What is a synopsis?

A synopsis is a 1-2 page summary of the events that transpire in a book, either proposed or already written. It’s used to give people who haven’t read your book a quick overview, so they know the story that’s being told in the book without having to read it.

When is a synopsis necessary?

Some literary agents request synopses along with query letters. More often, they’re used slightly later on in a writer’s career, when they have an agent or an editor and they need to submit a proposal for a new idea or project. A synopsis can also be used later on, in situations that don’t involve the author. For instance, when an editor pitches the book to the marketing and publicity team, who may not have time to read every book they’re working on. Unlike a query letter, the book doesn’t necessarily have to be written when you’re submitting its synopsis.

Basic Style

The job of a synopsis is to lay out the story with little fuss and no frills. They let the person you’re pitching know what they’re going to find in that giant stack of pages on their desk or in that obscenely long Word document (or else in the Word doc they’ll eventually receive).  

Most professional synopses follow these rules:

• They’re told in third person
• They’re told in present tense
• Characters’ names are CAPSLOCKED at first mention.
• They are double spaced.
• They tend to avoid descriptions longer than this sentence.
• They focus on the central conflict and the protagonist’s emotional journey
• They spoil the ending
• They should be 500 words or less. (That is 1 page single-spaced, 2 pages double-spaced.)

HOW TO WRITE YOUR SYNOPSIS

The plot

Writing your synopsis, you have one goal: to tell a 50,000-100,000 word story in 500 words. It can be a little difficult to do this right. A great way to do this is to identify the key turning points in your protagonist’s story.

Do you remember those little plot roller coasters you’d make in elementary school? They’d usually be pointy witch’s-hat shaped things labeled with the terms: “beginning, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.” 

Those turning points are the events you should be including in your synopsis.This is the structure you want to emphasize to your reader. You want to make abundantly clear that your story works like a story, that the events of your book have a beginning, a middle, and an end, that there’s an intriguing beginning, an exciting climax, a satisfying conclusion. You don’t want to just list out the events of your novel, but highlight the function of those events. X moment is important because it’s the inciting incident, the moment that takes the protagonist from their normal life and throws them into the story.

There are tons of great story roadmaps out there, that go into more specific story elements. The Hero’s Journey is the most famous example of a detailed, and mostly universal, story structure. There’s also the three-act structure that’s famous among screenwriters.

Find a structure that fits your story the best and use that to identify the events of your story that need to make it into your synopsis. I’ll link to different sources at the bottom of this post that will give you variations of story structure.

If you can correlate key scenes in your novel to the descriptions of these plot points, you’ll find an easy roadmap to navigating the many events of outlining your novel.

Your protagonist’s journey

Your protagonist is the heart of your story, and should be the heart of the synopsis, too. The protagonist’s emotional journey may not string all of these plot points together, but it’s going to be what makes them matter to the reader. The human element of your story has to be represented in your synopsis.  

There’s no room for long descriptions, so you’ll have to be smart about finding a few terms that not only tell your reader who the character is, but what their story will be. For instance, if your story is about someone trying to get their critically-panned paintings in the Museum of Modern Art by breaking into the museum and installing the pieces themselves, you may want to introduce them with a sentence that begins like so: “When IGNATIUS, an ambitious and untalented struggling artist, discovers his work is rejected from yet another gallery…”

In addition to these descriptive terms, you should spell out what your protagonist wants (or wants desperately to avoid) and their stake in the events of the story. 

Along the way, tell us how these key aspects of their persons change due to the events of the story, or else how they influence the events of the story. Tell us about how after raving reviews for his DIY MoMA exhibit came in, Iggy realized that though he still liked painting, his talents actually lay in performance art. Untalented to talented, struggling to successful, all because his ambition pushed him to try new and daring things.

Tips:

As in query letters, you only name the most important characters and locations outright. If you’re writing a synopsis for Harry Potter, you’ll want to use Harry’s name in the query, but most other people and places can be referred to by their function in the novel. Ex: Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon can be “his cruel relatives.” Hermione and Ron can be “his friends.” Even Hogwarts can be a “school for people with magical abilities.” This makes it easier for a reader to understand what’s going on in your story. Too many names in such a small amount of space can be overwhelming.

All telling, no showing. This is one piece of writing where you’ll want to tell, instead of show. You need to get to your point as quickly, as clearly, and concisely as possible; this isn’t the place for creative storytelling.

Oftentimes, synopses are given along with other materials, such as pitch letters and sample pages. While a synopsis should be captivating in-so-far that it’s well told, and it should maybe be a little stylish, being captivating and stylish aren’t its main goals. Additional materials like sample pages and pitches have more room for creative flourishes and can do a better job of selling the story, while the synopsis focuses on telling it.

Your synopsis should show that you know how to tell a story. While a synopsis doesn’t sell a story like a query, it should still illustrate the fact that you have an interesting, unique and well-structured plot. When finished, your reader should be able to think to themselves “that’s a good story. I want to read that.”

Your first draft will be too long. Your first draft of a synopsis will always be at least a page or two longer than it should be. Identify the sentences and paragraphs where you explain why a thing happens and ax them. Identify sentences where you repeat yourself and ax them. Identify descriptors that aren’t vital to understanding of the story and ax them. Once you make your first painful cuts and see that the story still makes sense without those things, you’ll start to get a better understanding of what can and cannot be taken out of your synopsis.

Bibliography:

• 6 Steps for Writing a Book Synopsis
  
• How to Write a 1 Page Synopsis
  
• The Hero’s Journey
  
• Learn How to Write a Synopsis Like a Pro
  
• How to Write a Novel Synopsis
  
• The Secrets of Story Structure
  
• Three Awesome Plot Structures for Building Bestsellers
  
• 7 Ways Write Plot Outline
  
• Synopsis for “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”
  
• How to Plan Your Novel Using a 3 Act Structure – ex. “The Hunger Games”
  
• Story Structure by Plot Point for “Raiders of the Lost Ark”

harmonyinkpress:

What’s a query letter?

• A short
  (single page) introduction of you and your book to a publisher or agent
• Use professional business letter format, font,
  and language
• Do your research about the publisher or agent so
  you can:
• Personalize the letter to a specific person (for
  example, the acquisitions editor)
• Show how your book meets their submission
  criteria

Start with the most important information first

• A “hook” – one sentence that captures the
  essence of your story and makes them want more
• To save
  his world, a hobbit must destroy a powerful magic ring.
• A farm boy
  joins the rebellion against an evil galactic empire.

State how your story fits what they publish or
represent.

• I enjoy
  your fantasy novels and would appreciate your considering my novel Hobbit
  Wars.
• Always include the title, genre, and word count.
• Be sure these meet the submission guidelines for
  your target publisher or agent.

Include a brief synopsis of the story

• No more than one or two short paragraphs –
  ideally no more than 150 words
• Focus on your main characters, their goals, and
  the obstacles they face to achieve them
• Don’t overdisclose – leave the editor or agent
  wanting to read more

Wrap it up

• Include a sentence or two about yourself
• Include any writing credits, awards, or special
  background that influences your story
• Thank the editor or agent for their time and
  consideration
• Based on the submission guidelines, include the
  manuscript or excerpt or let them know it is available on request

anghraine:

so I’m looking at short story publishers (fantasy)

1. Tor, cream of the crop. 25 cents a word. Stories can be read for free (YES). Slowish response time at ~3 months. Prefer under 12k, absolute maximum is 17.5k. Don’t bother if it’s not highly professional quality. SFWA qualifying.
2. Crossed Genres. 6 cents a word. Different theme each month (this month’s is “failure”). Submissions must combine either sci-fi or fantasy with the theme. Response time 1 month. 1k-6k, no exceptions. SFWA qualifying.
3. Long Hidden, anthology from CG. 6 cents a word. 2k-8k, no exceptions. Must take place before 1935. Protagonist(s) must be under 18 and marginalized in their time and place. Must be sci-fi/fantasy/horror. Deadline 30 April. Response by 1 October.
4. Queers Destroy Science Fiction. Sci-fi only right now, author must identify as queer (gay, lesbian, bi, ace, pan, trans, genderfluid, etc, just not cishet). 7.5k max. Deadline 15 February. Responses by 1 March. You can submit one flash fiction and one short story at the same time. (My network blocks the Lightspeed site for some reason, so I can’t get all the submission details. >_>) Probably SFWA qualifying?
5. Women in Practical Armor. 6 cents a word. 2k-5k. Must be about 1) a female warrior who 2) is already empowered and 3) wears sensible armour. Deadline 1 April. Response within three months.
6. Fiction Vortex. $10 per story, with $20 and $30 for editor’s and readers’ choice stories (hoping to improve). Speculative fiction only. Imaginative but non-florid stories. 7.5k maximum, preference for 5k and under. (I kind of want to support them on general principle.)
7. Urban Fantasy Magazine. 6 cents a word. 8k max, under 4k preferred. Must be urban fantasy (aka, the modern world, doesn’t need to be a literal city). 
8. Nightmare. 6 cents a word. 1.5-7.5k, preference for under 5k. Horror and dark fantasy. Response time up to two weeks. SFWA and HWA qualifying.
9. Apex Magazine. 6 cents a word. 7.5k max, no exceptions. Dark sci-fi/fantasy/horror. SFWA qualifying.
10. Asimov’s Science Fiction. 8-10 cents a word. 20k max, 1k minimum. Sci-fi; borderline fantasy is ok, but not S&S. Prefer character focused. Response time 5 weeks; query at 3 months. SFWA qualifying, ofc.
11. Buzzy Mag. 10 cents a word. 10k max. Should be acceptable for anyone 15+. Response time 6-8 weeks. SFWA qualifying.
12. Strange Horizons. 8 cents a word. Speculative fiction. 10k max, prefers under 5k. Response time 40 days. Particularly interested in diverse perspectives, nuanced approahces to political issues, and hypertexts. SFWA qualifying. 
13. Fantasy and Science Fiction. 7-12 cents a word. Speculative fiction, preference for character focus, would like more science-fiction or humour. 25k maximum. Prefers Courier. Response time 15 days.
14. Scigentasy. 3 cents a word. .5-5k. Science-fiction and fantasy, progressive/feminist emphasis. Fantastic Stories of the Imagination. 15 cents a word. 3k maximum. Any sci-fi/fantasy, they like a literary bent. (psst, steinbecks!) They also like to see both traditional and experimental approaches. Response time two weeks. 
15. Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 6 cents a word. 10k maximum. Fantasy in secondary worlds only (it can be Earth, but drastically different—alternate history or whatever). Character focus, prefer styles that are lush yet clear, limited first or third person narration. Response time usually 2-4 weeks, can be 5-7 weeks. SFWA qualifying.
    
16. Clarkesworld. 10 cents a word up to 4000, 7 afterwards. 1-8k, preferred is 4k. Science-fiction and fantasy. Needs to be well-written and convenient to read on-screen. Appreciates rigour. No talking cats. Response time 2 days. SFWA qualifying.
17. Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show. 6 cents a word. Any length. Science-fiction and fantasy (along with fantastic horror). Good world-building and characterization. Clear straightforward prose. Response time three months. Yes, OSC is editor-in-chief. SFWA qualifying.
18. Interzone. Sub-pro rates if anything (but highly respected). 10k max. Short cover letter. Science-fiction and fantasy.

theliteraryarchitect:

For those of you who are submitting short stories or novels for publication, I offer you this quick tip: Don’t bury your gold.*

The harsh truth is that most magazines, agents, and editors receive so many submissions that they rarely read past the first paragraph (of a short story) or page (of a novel) before they begin to make a decision. And if you don’t show them something they want to see within that time, they may not finish your story at all. So don’t bury the good stuff!

I often see stories where the writer “hides” their best stuff in the middle of the story. This can happen on a story-level when the writer doesn’t reveal the “hook” of the story until five pages in. It can also happen on a style or skill level when the writer doesn’t show their best writing until the middle or end of the story.

This strategy might work for writing that you share with your friends or family, but if you want to get the attention of an overworked, underpaid, stressed out editor or agent who has already read 50 stories that day, open with your gold, don’t keep it buried in the middle where they might not even see it!

As a first reader for literary magazines who is often in the position of reading through tons of submissions in a day, I can not stress this enough. Editors are much more likely to overlook weak or uninteresting writing halfway through a story that had a strong beginning than they are to keep reading a story that has a weak start. Show us what you’ve got, and show us right away. Hope this helps!

*If you are working on a story right now, please please please don’t let this advice get in the way of your creative process. As with any publishing advice, I recommend that writers make these kinds of changes to their story in the later stages of writing, after it’s done or almost done, rather than obsessing about them while doing early drafts or outlines. That will only lead to writer’s block!